The Tesla CEO is scheduled to visit, according to Bloomberg News, the Tesla factory in Shanghai, China, this weekend, amid tensions between Washington and Beijing.
It was a visit that had been rumored for a few days.
Three years after his last trip to China, Elon Musk is back in the country. Tesla’s billionaire CEO is scheduled to visit the electric vehicle maker’s factory in Shanghai this Easter weekend, according to Bloomberg News.
The tech mogul may also meet with local authorities, but these plans could change, Bloomberg reported.
There is no indication whether Musk will meet Premier Li Qiang during the trip. Li is leading the country’s efforts to convince international companies to continue investing in China.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.
Musk, who posted on Twitter today, did not mention his trip.
China is a key market for Tesla
Musk’s trip comes amid tensions between the United States and China, which have escalated into a kind of technological warfare. Beijing is also trying to attract foreign investors and companies as the Chinese economy tries to revive, after years of covid-19, marred by the lockdown that saw the country cut off from the world.
Musk is traveling with Tom Zhu, a former head of China operations who was promoted to head of production operations at Tesla last year. Zhu is now the company’s manufacturing leader. This promotion makes him one of Musk’s potential successors as CEO.
The Shanghai plant, which produces the company’s two most popular models, the Model 3 and Model Y, serves the Asian and European markets. Giga Shanghai has a production capacity of more than 750,000 vehicles a year, according to the company.
Musk has not visited China for three years. His last visit dates back to the beginning of 2020. At that time, pictures of him dancing on a podium in the Shanghai factory had gone around the world and made him very popular.
Since then, Musk has seen his influence grow. For a time, he became the richest man in the world. He is currently the second richest man in the world, behind French businessman Bernard Arnault, with a net worth valued at $171 billion as of April 7, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The serial entrepreneur has also become a major voice on the global geopolitical scene, a status he earned by providing Ukraine with Starlink during its war with Russia. Starlink is a secure satellite internet access service, developed by SpaceX, another of the billionaire’s companies.
In addition, last October it acquired Twitter, the social network considered the platform where trendsetters and opinion makers meet around the world, for $44 billion. Social media puts Musk, a self-described “free speech absolutist,” in a delicate position, particularly with regard to censorship in China. How he would respond to requests from Beijing to remove content or block certain anti-regime voices is one of the questions many experts are asking.
It’s worth noting that Tesla is still waiting for the green light from the Chinese authorities for FSD, or Full Self Driving, its advanced driver assistance system.
The automaker is also experiencing delays in its efforts to double production capacity at the Shanghai plant.
The truth is that a Musk visit to China will be closely followed by the political and business world.
